“We have
not eaten anything for three days. We are waiting for the Greek police to
arrest us so that they give us something to eat.” This 20-year-old Afghan’s words
describe perfectly the cruel reality along the North-Eastern borders of Greece.
While Frontex, the European Union’s border agency, deployed there last November
a special force in order to stem the influx of illegal migrants, the problem
does not seem to be solved. Even if the numbers show a relative decrease in the
number of migrants, their ‘odyssey’ is still ongoing. “We started our journey
from Afghanistan. We passed through Iraq to Turkey and from the Turkish border
we walked here. We were told that the Greek border guards will arrest us
immediately and after a few days we will be free to go to Athens. But we
are still waiting for them. I have
a friend in Athens. I will walk
there in order to find him,” says another 22-year-old Afghan.

Δευτέρα, 13 Αυγούστου 2012

Lampedusa's
overcrowded refugee camps made headlines last year. Those facilities
may have mostly emptied since, but Amnesty International says the
EU's refugee policy still has major faults.

In
recent days, London-based human rights organization Amnesty
International has worked to draw attention to the fate of North
African refugees struggling to reach Europe by boat. Many of them
arrive on the tiny Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which belongs
to Italy. Other refugees end up in Sicily or Malta. This summer has
seen a decrease in the number of refugees from North Africa. But
Nicolas Berger, Director of Amnesty International's European
Institutions Office, told DW the fundamental problem has not changed.